Reinforced carton structure



Sept. 4, 1968 H. w. FORQRER 3,402,872

REINFORCED CARTON STRUCTURE Filed July 25, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. HOMER W. FORRER FIG. 3 w 4&1

ATTORNEY pt- 24, 1 8 H. w. FORRER 3,402,872

REINFORCED CARTON STRUCTURE Filed July 25, 1 966 2 Sheets-Sheet z INVEN'TQR. HOMER w. FORRER FIG. 7 wfi ATTORNEY United States Patent 7 3,402,872 REINFORCED CARTON STRUCTURE Homer Webb Forrer, Jonesboro, Ga., assignor to The Mead Corporation, a corporation of Ohio Filed July 25, 1966, Ser. No. 567,447

7 Claims. (Cl. 229-28) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The bottle carrier as disclosed herein is provided with a bottom panel which is secured on each side edge to the carrier side walls by a double thickness reinforced construct-ion. One side wall of the carton is secured to the bottom panel by a lap panel forming an extension along the bottom edge of the side wall which extension is secured to the bottom of the bottom panel together with a reinforcing panel foldably joined to the bottom panel along the adjacent side edge, the reinforcing panel being secured to the inner surface of the side wall. On the other side of the carton, a lap panel forms an extension of the side wall and a reinforcing panel is foldably joined to the adjacent side edge of the bottom panel and the bot-tom panel is attached to the lap panel by a pair of swing straps foldably joined at one end thereof to the edge of the lap panel remote from the side wall and at the other end thereof to the adjacent side edge of the bottom panel. The swing straps serve to maintain the bottom anel and the remaining elements of the blank as a single unitary structure during the formation of the blank and during manipulation of the various panels to form the carrier from the blank.

This invention relates to reinforced carton structure and more particularly to a reinforced hinged connection between a pair of carton walls which are foldably joined to each other along adjacent edges. Ordinarily, though not necessarily, the invention is employed at the junction between the bottom edge of a carrier side wall and the adjacent side edge of the bottom wall of the carrier.

Article carriers which are adapted for use in conjunction with heavy primary packages such as 16 ounce bottles, for example, are subjected to substantial stresses due to the rather considerable weight of the primary packages and also due to the damage which is sometimes caused when heavy bottles are dropped into the carrier during a loading operation. Such damage, of course, is imparted primarily to the bottom wall of the carrier and particularly to the portions thereof which are foldably joined to the carrier side walls..

Unusually damp or high humidity conditions also tend to weaken the bottom and side walls of carriers and, if sufiiciently prolonged, tend to cause disintegration of the carrier walls and particularly the bottom wall thereof.

A principal object of this invention is to strengthen and thus prolong the useful life of article carriers which are subjected to heavy loading and which are weakened for some special reason such as high humidity or damp environmental conditions.

.Another object of this invention is the provision of an improved and substantially reinforced folda'ble hinged connection between the side edges of an article carrier and the adjacent bottom edges of the carrier side walls.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an improved hinged connection for use in article carriers and which connection is readily adaptable for use in conjunction with conventional carrier forming machines.

A hinged connection according to one form of the invention comprises a lap panel foldably joined to one edge of a carrier wall, and a reinforcing flap foldably joined to an edge of another wall of the carrier, the edges being "Ice disposed in close proximity and in approximately coincidental relationship to each other with the lap panel secured in face contacting relation to one surface of the other carrier wall and with the reinforcing flap secured in face contacting relationship with the other surface of said one wall of the carrier. According to a feature of the invention, at least one swing strap is foldably joined at one end thereof to the edge of the lap panel which is remote from the fold line between the lap panel and the wall to which it is foldably joined and which is foldably joined at the other end thereof to an edge of the I other wall which is generally parallel with the fold line at said one end of said swing strap.

For a better understanding of the invention reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a completed set-up carrier constructed according to the invention; FIG. 2 is a plan view of an insert which is secured inside the carrier on each side of the handle thereof for forming a series of partitions on each side of the carrier handle; FIG. 3 is a plan view of the main blank from which the carrier depicted in FIG. 1 -is formed; FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but which depicts the condition of the main blank after the lap panel, reinforcing flap and swing straps constructed according to this invention have been manipulated into their service positions from the positions depicted in the blank of FIG. 3; FIGS. 5, 6, and 7 are views which depict certain stages through which the blank depicted in FIG. 4 is manipulated into the final completed and collapsed condition as represented in FIG. 8.

With reference to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates one sidewall of the carrier to which a lap panel 2 is foldably joined along the fold line 3. An end wall panel 4 is foldably joined to one end edge 5 of sidewall 1 at one end of the carrier and a similar end panel 6 is foldably joined along a fold line 7 to the other end edge of side wall 1. A riser panel 8 is foldably joined along fold line 9 to one edge of end wall panel 4 and a similar riser panel 10 is foldably joined along a fold line 11 to an edge of end wall panel 6. Handle panel 12 is foldably joined to riser panel 8 along fold line 9 and is provided with hand gripping aperture 12a. Similarly a handle panel 14 is foldably joined along fold line 11 to riser panel 10 and is provided with hand gripping aperture 15.

The structure which forms the opposite side of the carrier is generally similar to that just describe-d and comprises a side wall 16 to one end edge 17 of which an end wall panel 18 is foldably joined. End panel 19 is foldably joined to the other end edge 20 of side wall 16. Riser panel 21 is foldably joined along fold line 22 to an edge of end panel 18 and a similar riser panel 23 is folda'bly joined along edge 24 to end Wall panel 19. Handle panel 25 is foldably joined along fold line 22 to riser panel 21 and is provided with a hand gripping aperture 26. Similarly, a handle panel 27 is foldably joined along fold line 24 to an edge of riser panel 23 and is provided with hand gripping aperture 28.

The bottom panel of the carrier is designated by the numeral 29 and is provided with a medial fold line 30. A pair of conventional notches 31 and 32 are formed at the end edges of fold line and cooperate in known manner with the notches 33, 34, 35 and 36 which are formed in the riser panels 8, 10, 21 and 23 respectively.

In accordance with this invention, a reinforced hinged connection is provided between side edge 37 of bottom wall 29 and the bottom edge 38 of side wall 16. This improved connection comprises a lap panel 39 foldably joined to the bottom edge of side Wall 16 along the fold line 38 together with a reinforcing flap 40 foldably joined to side edge 37 of bottom panel 29 along fold line 37 together with a pair of swing straps 41 and 42. Swing strap 41 is foldably joined at one end thereof along fold line 43 to the edge of lap panel 39 which is remote from the fold line 38. The other end of strap 41 is foldably joined to a side edge of bottom panel 29 along fold line 37. In like fashion swing strap 42 is foldably joined along fold line 44 to an edge of lap panel 39 which is remote from the fold line 38. The other end of swing strap 42 is foldably joined to side edge of bottom wall 29 along fold line 37 An application of glue is made to the lower area of side wall 16 on the inner exposed surface thereof and to the ends of lap panel 39 and to swing straps 41 and 42 as indicated by stippling in FIG. 3.

In order to manipulate the various elements provided according to this invention into their service positions, it is simply necessary to elevate the bottom wall 29 and to swing it upwardly and forwardly so as to cause the swing panels 41 and 42 to assume positions of flat face contacting relation with the adjacent portions of lap panel 39. Of course this operation causes the reinforcing flap 40 to lie into flat face contacting relation with the adjacent surface of the lower portion of side wall 16 and simultaneously causes the fold line 37 to lie in close proximity to the fold line 38 so that the parts then occupy the positions depicted in FIG. 4.

As shown in FIG. 3, the length of the swing straps 41 and 42 is equal to the Width of the lap panel 39 and f the reinforcing flap 40. Of course it Will be understood that other dimensional relationships could be employed so long as the end result is such that the fold lines 37 and 38 substantially coincide with each other. Furthermore, as shown in the drawings, there are two swing straps such as 41 and 42. It will be understood that a different number of such straps could be employed in a manner obvious to those skilled in the art.

The invention in its broader aspects also applies to the junction between the bottom edge of side wall 1 and the adjacent edge of bottom panel 29 and comprises a reinforcing flap 45 which is foldably joined to a side edge of bottom panel 29 along fold line 46. When the carton is assembled, the fold lines 46 and 3 are in close proximity and in substantial coincidence with each other.

For the purpose of providing partition structure on each side of the handle of the carrier, a pair of inserts are used. One such insert is shown in plan in FIG. 2 and is generally designated by the numeral 47. Insert 47 comprises a central panel 48 to which a cross partition 49 is foldably joined along fold line 50 on one side and a cross partition 51 foldably joined along fold line 52 on the other side. A glue flap 53 is foldably joined along fold line 54 to an edge of cross partition 49 and a similar glue flap 55 is foldably joined along fold line 56 to a side edge of cross partition 51. The partition structure 47 forms no part of the present invention and a description thereof is included merely for the sake of completeness,

Once the elements comprising the improved hinged connection between the bottom panel 29 and side wall 16 have been manipulated into the positions depicted in FIG. 4 a pair of inserts such as 47 of FIG. 2 are appropriately manipulated and affixed to the blank as depicted in FIG. 4 to then appear as shown in FIG. 5. More specifically cross partition panel 51 is folded downwardly along fold line 52 to occupy a position underneath central panel 48. An application of glue is then made to the underneath surface of glue flaps 53 and 55 and the glue flaps are then affixed in position as indicated in FIG. to the side wall 16. Simultaneously cross partition 49 of another insert is folded downwardly along fold line 50 to occupy a position underneath panel 48. The structure when thus folded is rotated 180 about a vertical axis and upon application of glue to the underneath surfaces of the glue flaps 53 and 55 is then secured to side wall 1 in the position depicted in FIG. 5 and the structure then appears as shown in that figure.

In order to manipulate the parts into the positions depicted in FIG. 6, an application of glue is first made to the blank as indicated by stippling in FIG. 5. The riser panels 8 and 21 are then folded upwardly and toward the right along their respective fold lines 9 and 22 to occupy positions of fiat face contacting relation with the stippled areas of handle panels 12 and 25. Simultaneously with this folding operation, the end panels 4 and 18 are folded upwardly and toward the right along the fold lines 5 and 17 respectively. Upon completion of this folding operation the underneath surfaces of handle panels 12 and 25 are disposed in flat face contacting relationship to the upper surfaces of handle panels 14 and 27 with the hand gripping aperture 12a disposedin coincidence with the hand gripping aperture 15 and with the hand hold aperture 26 disposed in coincidental relationship to hand gripping aperture 28. The blank then appears as depicted in FIG. 6.

The next folding operation simply constitutes folding the riser panels 10 and 23 upwardly and toward the left along their respective fold lines 11 and 24 so as to cause the inner ends of the riser panels to adhere to the areas of handle panels 14 and 27 which are stippled to indicate an application of glue. The blank then appears as depicted in FIG. 7 and an application of glue is made to the blank as indicated by stippling in that figure in order to prepare the blank for the final folding operation. The stippling shown on flap 45 and on bottom panel 29 in FIG. 7 actually denotes glue on the underneath surface of flap 45 and bottom panel 29.

The final folding operation is effected by simply swinging the side wall 1 and parts associated therewith upwardly along the fold lines 57, 58 so that these parts then occupy the positions depicted in FIG. 8. During this folding operation the bottom panel 29 is folded along the fold line 30 so that the lap panel 2 is then secured in face contacting relation to the lower portion of the exposed surface of bottom panel 29 and the flap 45 is simultaneously secured to parts of the inner surface of the bottom portion of sidewall 1. Fold lines 3 and 46 are those disposed immediately adjacent to each other.

The carrier then appears in completed collapsed form as depicted in FIG. 8.

Of course the reinforcing hinge connection according to this invention in its broader aspects is applied to both side edges 37 and 46 of the bottom wall 29. The swing straps 41 and 42 serve not only as reinforcing elements but also serve to maintain the bottom panel 29 interconnected with the rest of the main blank and thereby enable conventional machines to form the carrier.

From the description above it is clear that the invention is not limited to article carriers but is applicable to other cartons where a reinforced hinged connection between adjacent walls is desired. Furthermore the embodiment of the invention incorporating a reinforcing flap, lap panel and swing straps could be used on both side edges of the bottom panel where the bottom panel is arranged centrally of the blank rather than at one end as shown, for example, in FIGS. 37.

While a particular form of the invention has been shown and described, it will be understood that the invention is not limited thereto and it is intended in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A hinged connection between a pair of carton walls, said connection comprising a lap panel foldably joined to an edge of one of said walls, a reinforcing flap foldably joined to an edge of the other of said walls, said edges being disposed in close approximately coincidental relationship to each other with said lap panel secured in face contacting relation to one surface of said other wall and with said reinforcing flap secured in face contacting relationship to the othcr surface of said one wall, and at least one swing strap foldably joined at one end thereof to the edge of said lap panel which is remote from the fold line between said lap panel and said one wall and at the other end thereof to an edge of said other wall which is generally parallel to the fold line at said one end of said swing strap.

2. A connection according to claim 1 wherein the length of said swing strap is approximately equal to the width of said lap panel and wherein said strap and said lap panel are secured together in flat face contacting relationship.

3. A connection according to claim 2 wherein the fold line between said reinforcing flap and said other wall is aligned with the fold line between said other end of said swing strap and said edge of said other wall.

4. A connection according to claim 3 wherein the length of said swing strap is approximately equal to the width of said reinforcing flap.

5. A connection according to claim 1 wherein a swing strap is disposed at each end of said reinforcing flap.

6. A connection according to claim 1 wherein the length of said swing strap is approximately equal to the Width of said lap panel.

7. A connection according to claim 1 wherein the strap and lap panels are secured together in flat face contacting relationship.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,702,144 2/1955 Forrer 2201l3 X 3,099,379 7/ 1963 Stease 22923 3,138,285 6/1964 Wenzel 220-113 3,245,604 4/ 1966 Chapman 229-48 DONALD F. NORTON, Primary Examiner. 

